rebel fighters and their families pull out of the syrian city homs in a ceasefire negotiated with the government. ♪ very good to have your company, i'm david foster, you are watching al jazeera. also in the next 30 minutes. more than 70 people killed in a taliban attack on kandahar airport in afghanistan. france says it has made significant progress on reigning in greenhouse gas emissions at crucial climate change talks in paris. and we report on the

coca-co coca-cola advert that is causing a fizz in mexico. hundreds of rebel fighters and their families have begun to leave the city of homs. nay are headed to idlib which is under opposition control. >> reporter: this is the result of more than two years of sporadic and difficult negotiations, hundreds of people, including fighters and their families are leaving this district in the city of homs. it was the last rebel strong hold in a city long known by the opposition as the capitol of their revolution. a ceasefire deal has come into effect. the united nations helped broker the agreement between the syrian government and the rebels. >> translator: the first batch of people from the neighborhood of homs has left.

other groups will follow. about 160 families left the neighborhoods, fighters against the truce, as well as a number of wounded. >> reporter: the evacuation of fighters and their families the first phase of the agreement. they will head to opposition-controlled areas further north. the syrian government in turn will lift the seize of the district and end military operations there. but the warring sides seem to be interpreting other deals differently. the government says it means the neighborhood returns to state control, is cleared of weapons, and fighters who choose to stay will have their legal status settled. the opsis denies that the district will return to government control. >> translator: not everyone in the neighborhood have left, only the injured and their families. or those who's families are

outside the neighborhood. we are steadfast on our front lines. there is no mass departure. this is our neighborhood, and we should defend it. >> reporter: opposition activists say the had no other choice but to accept the deal. the neighborhood has been desieged by government forces for more than two years, food and medical supplies were only allowed in sporadically. some may describe the deal as a surrender forced by the blockade. the deal here is similar to the one reached in homs old city more than a year ago, more than 2,000 fighters were granted safe passage to opposition areas north of homs. they agreed to the deal only after they were starved and outgunned. since then few people have returned. the international community is now working to try to revive peace negotiations, start a political process, and bring about a nationwide ceasefire.

in that won't be easy. and while these agreements may silence the guns, they are doing little to bring about peace and reconciliation. russia's defense ministry says it has fired missiles towards syria from a submarine in the mediterranean. the submarine arrived in waters off of the coast of syria on tuesday. now the u.s. defense secretary has called on gulf countries to do more to fight the islamic state of iraq and the levant. speaking at the hearing of the senate armed services committee, ash carter said sunni armed communities in particular should do more. >> turkey must do more to control its border. saudi arabia and the gulf states joined the air foergs of the campaign in the early days. only the air part. but have since been preoccupied by the conflict in yemen in the

air and on the ground. and just this past week, i personally reached out through my counterparts in 40 countries around the world in the coalition and asked them to contribute more, in many cases contribute much more to enhancing the fight against isil. >> let's go to rosiland jordan in washington, d.c. what mr. carter has been felt for sometime, not vocalized until now. this incredible frustration. >> reporter: that's because the u.s. is very much concerned about any perceptions in the region that the coalition that is going after isil is primarily the united states. now even though the u.s. is part of the air coalition and there are eight or nine countries taking part depending on whether you are talking about iraq or syria, the fact is, the united states is still dropping about two-thirds of the bombs on isil targets in both countries,

and very few of those bombs have been developed by countries from the middle east, so the u.s. is trying to step up the public pressure on these countries to do more if they say that they consider isil a fundamental national security threat. the other point that carter is making during this hearing before the senate armed services committee is that the u.s. is prepared to provide air support to the iraqi military as it finally -- and this is the secretary's wores -- starts its effort to retake the city of ramadi in the western part of iraq. he has said this has to be done with the consent of any -- the central government in baghdad, but applauded the military's effort to finally start going after isil in ramadi. >> thank you, rosiland jordan there in washington, d.c.

well that civil war in syria high on the agenda of the gulf cooperation council meeting in the city of riyadh. regional security issues will be talked about, including the war in yemen and the iranian nuclear deal. europe's refugee crisis is also expected to be discussed. the conference was opened by the saudi arabia king. >> translator: our people still need more in order to be given to them, and we are quite sure that we will all exert the utmost efforts to achieve complete results in boosting the path of cooperation of the gcc and to find an economic and social infrastructure in our countries to help the people of our -- or the peoples of our

countries, and to prevent our countries from any plots, terrorism, or extremism. at the same time, we need to build a joint defensive system for the sake of our countries and our peoples. >> let's go to mohamed vall joining us live from doha. the criticisms of the u.s. defense secretary that the countries in the gulf are not doing enough at the moment. will that have stung those representatives we have just seen on screen? what will they make of what he has had to say? >> reporter: david as you said earlier when you were talking to rosiland jordan this is a stating of facts, actually by the americans. this has been going on for a while. the americans know the priorities are different. the gulf countries are upset

that the americans are putting all of the focus on fighting isil, but not giving much at tend to the demands of the gulf country, lead by saudi arabia. the gulf countries leaders want to see more commitment by the americans in fighting or helping fight against assad, and they are seeing how the americans and the other european, western capitols are not decisive in this respect, so we have two sets of priorities, and each side knows exactly what priorities the other side has. >> when it comes to -- we mentioned the refugee crisis, there has been stinging criticism of the gulf countries for not doing their part in taking many refugee. will that be discussed. >> reporter: they are going to discuss the refugee crisis.

they have their own explanations to this, which they advance every now and then when this issue is raised. but they think this is not the biggest problem. the biggest problem for them now is the intervention of iran -- iran's interference in the affairs in this the region, and the americans not doing anything about this -- not addressing the core concerns of the gcc countries, and the gcc leaders are simply saying that -- let's discuss everything frankly, and let's listen to each other more closely, and let's respond to the priorities of the other side, but so far the americans are ignoring in the eyes of the gulf -- gcc leaders are ignoring partly of wholly the major concerns of the most interesting or most crucial concerns of the gulf countries, including iran, and the attempt to topple assad. they think they will not be on

the same page until the americans and western leaders listen to their demands. >> fascinating to get the two ends of the argument there from you mohamed vall in doha, and from rosiland jordan in washington. afghan forces are continuing, we understand, to battle a taliban gunman who is involved in an attack on kandahar airport. 70 people died in the incident, and dozens more were hurt. >> reporter: this video released by the taliban is said to show the gun battle between taliban fighters and afc security forces at kandahar airport. as dawn broke the damage was easy to see. it's a heavily fortified facility. but at least ten armed men got into a school building without being challenged. once inside the gunmen seized familiar list as hostages. >> translator: gunmen entered

the airfield from the area where civilian families live, and where there is a market. >> reporter: these are said to be the attackers armed with automatic weapons and dressed in what appears to be afghan army uniforms and equipment. the taliban has released this video in which one of the attackers warns u.s. president barack obama that there is no safety for u.s. troops in afghanistan. he says u.s. technology will be finished, and its power will be killed. despite having a newly elected leader, and reports of infighting between factions, the taliban seems to be proving it will still launch well-planned attacks. they even have official looking vehicles with fake license plates, which according to these

taliban pictures, security forces don't appear to check. taliban fighters overran the northern city of kunduz in september. the afghan army took several days to regain control. afghan president is in islamabad for talks with representatives from pakistan, india, and the u.s. right now in kandahar that possibility of peace seems remote. stay with us, if you can, we have this coming up. the end of the road for hundreds of refugees and migrants in northern greece and lights, camera, but no action, why thailand is struggling to maintain its hollywood connections. ♪

>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts,

beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. ♪ and the top stories for you. hundreds of rebel fighters and their families have been leaving the syrian city of homs as part of a ceasefire with the government. the u.s. defense secretary has called on gulf countries to do more to fight isil. he said that sunni arab nations in particular should be doing more. and the taliban has warned the u.s. president that his troops are not safe in afghanistan. a group of its fighters attacked an airt in kandahar, killing more than 70 soldiers and

civilians. climate change talks in paris says that significant progress has been made. the french foreign minister has reviewed a new slimmed-downdraft text on reducing carbon emissions with three-quarters of the attendees now agreeing. they have just 48 hours to put pen to paper on a definitive deal. now urging delegates to make a final push for an agreement. >> translator: i'm asking you all to intensify your efforts so that we can quickly find a solution to these final problems. we all need to make these important choices and find a point of balance that allows us to reach the objective of this whole summit. chinese capitol has been on red alert for a second day because of severe smog. the amount of dangerous fine particulate matter is as much as

ten times higher than levels deemed same. cars with even-numbered license plates were banned from the road. construction sites have been shut down, and schools are still closed. there are three days of restrictions to try to get the smoke levels down. greek police are removing hundreds of migrants from macedonia and putting them on buses back to athens. the greek authorities say they will be accommodated in migration centers in athens. john psaropoulos is in the greek capitol. we'll talk about what is going to happen to them long term in just a moment, but the story is they weren't allowed across the border, because they weren't coming from areas of great danger; is that right?

>> reporter: well, they are deemed not to be refugees. in other words to qualify for asylum on the grounds that they will being persecuted politically, because of religious beliefs or any other personal reason. it is thought that these countries are economic migrants. some are palestinians, some from deeper in the middle east, and elsewhere. but the point is, if these people want to apply for asylum, they can on an individual basis, but only here in greece. >> john take a look over your shoulder and tell us whether these are the buses arriving from athens from the macedonian border. and tell us what is likely to happen to these migrants now. >> reporter: that's exactly right. these 12, roughly coaches that you see behind me, drove into

this parking lot, literally five to seven minutes ago. they have just unloaded the first batch of people who were evacuated from the greek you go slaufia, macedonian border. it is said that 45 buses are on their way. these people, surprisingly are not being sequestered. this is not a secure operation. we have just witnessed many of them actually walk out of this compound. they are not being forced to remain here. i'm not sure whether that's deliberate or an accident. some have extensive connections here, and they have people they can come into contact with.

but what their options ultimately are, are a, to remain here in limbo, for an indefinite period of time. no one is forcing them to leave within a certain number of days yet, b, to apply for asylum as we said before, c, to try to go back home, and there are facilities to enable them to do that financially, and d, continue to move illegally into europe if they possibly can. >> good to hear from you, john psaropoulos there in athens thank you. a german woman on trial accused in involvement in a neo-nazi cell has denied playing a role in the murders of ten people between the years 2000 and 2007. it's the first time she has spoken publicly in two and a half years. she denies being a member of the

underground group or taking part in the killings. she did, however, apologize to the families for failing to stop what happened. the government of columbia is believed to be very close to signing a peace deal with farc rebels. some of the fighters in the east of the country are already getting ready to re-enter society. our correspondent has been given exclusive access to a rebel camp. this is his report. >> reporter: farc fighters exercising at dawn, their rifles in hand. but those gathered in this camp are not here to practice how to fight. >> translator: it's time to start an education offensive which includes a literacy campaign, mathematics, political guidelines, philosophy, and ideals. >> reporter: the commander leads

the first morning class. he is part of the eastern block, the strongest military faction of the group. he tells the rebels about a change in focus. recently farc's highest commander ordered the [ inaudible ] of new weapons and explosives, the new priority, preparing these rebels for civil life. for the past three years farc has been holding peace talk with the columbian government, while the conflict on the ground continued. the rebels say they have declared a unilateral ceasefire while the government suspended its air strikes. nonetheless, government jets still fly overhead, ending this class and sending them to their trenches. farc rebels have been at war with the columbian government for 51 years, but successful

military offensives, and mass desertions have reduced their numbers. >> translator: we are entering a transitional phase which the government calls post conflict, and we call national normalization. >> reporter: today he is discussing the joint deal to find a 25,000 people who disappeared in the war. many of the fighters also need basic education. they often have been at war since they were 15, and might soon have to try to find regular jobs. >> translator: we are convinced that this time there is a real possibility to reach a political solution. that's why we're developing education plans, plans that have nothing to do with weapons, that have nothing to do with war and military activity. >> reporter: these classes may

hardly be enough to prepare all of the rebels for what will come, but they appear to show that the mark is serious about helping its life-long fighters to leave the jungle and their weapons behind. a coca-cola christmas ad in mexico that was meant to inspire joy and unity as done exactly the opposite. the company was forced to pull the campaign after a rights group complained that it was racist. here is john holman. >> reporter: coca-cola meant this to be their latest heart-warming christmas ad for mexico. white hipsters handing out coats to dark-skinned people. the company said it was meant to inspire unity and joy, instead it has inspired fury online. >> they created two kinds of

people, the people that is happy, the people that is white, that these people go to indigenous town and they give happiness with cokes and with christmas. and the people from the community only have a [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: the backlash has been so great that coca-cola has pulled the commercial entirely. this is part of the statement it sent us: reaction might be a surprise to coca-cola, but from the times of the spanish conquest, through to the popular soap operas today, dark skin indigenous mexicans have been portrayed as subservient to whiter-skinned

mexicans. but despite the outrage, the people in the town that was featured in the commercial, told us they were happy coca-cola came. these two were among those featured in the commercial. >> translator: when they took it count i was sad. we were proud to be recognized. >> reporter: coke is easily mexico's biggest-selling soda. and it is going to take more than a suspect advert campaign to effect its popularity here. blockbuster movies have been using thailand as a backdrop. but now that trend appears to be in decline. >> reporter: from its stunning natural landscape, to the

confused man made beauty of b g bangk bangkok, thailand has served as the backdrop for many international films. but that number has been shrinking, partly because the country does not have a film-incentive program, one where studios get a rebate for the money spent in the country. this man has worked on dozens of hollywood and other international film productions here. >> a lot of thailand's neighborhoods have film incentives in place. they have great incentives. even economically, if you are cost effective, and the producers might pick your country to film in, without the film incentives you have often never even make the short list. >> reporter: last year the number of foreign film

productions in thailand was down nearly 12% from 2013. and this year, so far, it's shaping up to be even worse. the number is down over 33% from last year. if film incentives are approved, and there is hope that could happen within the year, the program will provide a boost to the indigenous film industry too, as local productions like the ones filmed here will also benefit from the rebate program. and small independent companies can use that money to kick start financing. and that will build the capacity of the local film studios and their thai professionals. even more, some feel higher-profile films can act as an international gateway. >> we have been waiting for long time for the world to understand the differentiation between countries and culture in this

area, and what can be the better tool than movies? >> reporter: so for now the decision rest with thailand's government. aljazeera.com for all of the world's news. ♪ i own it. i take responsibility for what happened. >> chicago in turmoil, the mayor apologizing yet again. a man believed to be the friend of the san bernardino shooter, now under investigation himself. his possible ties to syed farook and the attack. the british parliament forced to debate a